California Decision May Accelerate Energy Efficiency Financing

“It’s a very aggressive effort,” said Frank Spasaro, manager of energy efficiency partnerships and finance at Southern California Gas Company. Most of the new programs will be offered by all of the state’s major investor-owned utilities. California also has other large utilities, but they are not part of the CPUC’s decision. “We put a lot of effort into things that are market-transformative,” said David Nemtzow, principal of Nemtzow & Associates. “You can think of it as a catalyst.” The new suite of programs will leverage ratepayer funds to access private capital. The programs will approach financing challenges from many angles simultaneously. They will test a variety of financing approaches to discover how to carry them out effectively. Utilities may expand these programs later as they learn from their experiences during the pilot phase. “This is a pilot to learn, to see ...